1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of office supplies and more particularly to trays used for organizing material. Still more specifically, the present invention relates to stackable trays used for purposes such as, but not limited, to "in-out" trays and the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Trays of various sizes, shapes and arrangement are common accessories in homes, offices and other businesses where it is desirable to organize materials. In many offices, for example, trays are used to sort incoming and outgoing mail, memos, etc. Typically such trays are rectangular in shape and are sized for particular types of functions. A common example of such a tray would be a plastic tray having a base and a rim or wall surrounding all or a part of the base. Small feet could be provided on the lower side of the base, and the upper surface of the base may include elongate ridges. The rim may also be provided with slots, holes or other design features.
It is also well known that such trays may be stacked, one on top of the other, to provide a space saving tray organization system. A variety of stacking techniques are known in the art, an example being to provide slots in the top of the wall or rim of one tray and ridges on the bottom of the trays, the ridges being arranged to be received within the slots, to fix one upper tray with respect to a lower tray. The process can be repeated to create a taller stack. With such systems, the upper tray, of any tray pair, is not movable horizontally with respect to the lower tray.
Stackable trays also have utility in a wide range of other applications where organization or display of different types of materials is desired. One problem, however, is that when trays are spaced apart from one another and stacked vertically, it may be difficult for the user to add or remove material from the lower tray. It would, therefore, be desirable to provide a horizontal offset of an upper tray with respect to a lower tray and even more desirable to provide a variable amount of such offset. An enhanced aesthetic appeal can also be achieved, the trays in such a system presenting a "cascading" appearance. A stackable tray system which accomplishes the foregoing design and utilitarian capabilities would represent a significant advance in the art.